Given the epidemic of opioid addiction and drug theft sweeping the nation, fire departments need to beef up controlled substances inventory and chain-of-custody tracking to safeguard themselves and the public. This has become a hot button for the DEA and other government agencies, and it’s only going to get hotter. They want immediate, comprehensive, and complete reports.

EMS1.com offers six strategies to prevent drug diversion in an article entitled, Drug diversion legal brief for EMS leaders: “Here are six strategies to prevent drug diversion, part of the EMS profession's important role in the fight against the opioid overdose epidemic…Audit and inspect frequently…Report diversion immediately…Proper recordkeeping for opioids and narcotics…Encourage reporting of Drug diversion…Control narcotic access to everyone…Talk to employees.”

According to an April 2018 report in Fire Engineering, “‘Automating, maintaining, and updating drug inventories without a hiccup are musts for today’s fire service, which is administering these drugs with ever-increasing frequency. This also can help EMS, private ambulance services, prisons and other organizations responsible for stocking and rapid replacement of heavy-duty drugs,’ notes PSTrax Principal Scott Bergeron.”

The article continues, “He adds that often third-party physicians are involved in fire department paramedic programs. Given that their license is on the line, they too have a huge stake in making sure everything is accounted for and administered properly.”That’s a tall and time-consuming order for paper-based systems, which are inherently more unwieldy to maintain than digital-based checks. A digital-based solution is much more attuned to reliable chain-of-custody overview, upto-date reporting, and near real-time sharing with authorized recipients.

PSTrax offers controlled substances tracking as part of its automated digital scheduling and tracking program that also includes vehicle, station, PPE, and SCBA checks. The company is helping departments efficiently track down missing drugs, quickly detect unusual patterns, maintain proper stocking levels, meet any daily tracking and reporting requirements, and enhance drug security.